A Very Special “UN” The WYD Organizing Committee includes youth staff from Australia, Brazil, Taiwan, and Denmark Madrid, June 10, 2011 – In an interview a few days ago, the Cardinal of Madrid commented that World Youth Day in Madrid would be "a great Pentecost." During recent months at the headquarters of the WYD Organizing Committee, we’ve gotten a foretaste of it. Working on preparations for World Youth Day is like being in a “mini-UN”. Young people from Australia, Brazil, Denmark, and Taiwan have been working together for weeks and even months on everything necessary to make World Youth Day a success.
Here are the stories of seven young people who have left their country to embark on the exciting adventure of organizing a WYD in Madrid. Each of them is doing their part so that many young people from their country can come and feel at home.
Paola is from Taiwan, is 25 years old and studied Turism in the University of Salamanca Paola (Taiwan)
Ya-Chen Chuang, or Paola, is 25 years old and is from Taiwan. She is responsible for administering the Facebook page in Mandarin Chinese. Nearly 3,000 fans are following preparations for WYD from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and China.
Over 500 pilgrims will be attending from her country. Aware of the fact that it is not easy for them to come, she got the people working at the WYD headquarters to learn Mandarin Chinese (from the Executive Director to the entire Communications Department) and taped them, to encourage all the youth of Taiwan to come to WYD.
Paola says that people in Taiwan do not have the same facilities as in Spain to practice their religion, nor to come to Madrid. So, she “scolds” those who live closer, telling them not to be “lazy” and encouraging them.
Elsa Vázquez is Australian. After working in banking for 13 years, she decided to leave everything for what she considers a very special project. Elsa Vázquez (Australia)
Elsa Vázquez is Australian. After working in banking for 13 years, she decided to leave everything for what she considers a very special project.
Her work in WYD is to organize all the logistics of the activities that will be held in the Parque del Retiro, including the Vocational Expo and the Festival of Forgiveness.
Her first WYD was in Toronto. She decided to go because she thought it would be the last time she would see Pope John Paul II, although she was not really sure what a WYD was. When she arrived, she was amazed by all the joy and spirituality she found and thus, she affirms that WYD in Madrid will be a unique experience for the Spanish nation.
There are already more than 3,000 young Australians registered, even though at first there were only 400. This had never happened in Australia and Elsa attributes it to the fact that the last WYD was held in Sydney. And for her, this is yet another sign that WYD’s light a fire in the hearts of all people.
Olivier is French, is 24 years old and has just finished Business studies in France Olivier Richard (France)
On New Year's Eve 2009, during a retreat attended along with several other people, Olivier Richard of France asked his girlfriend to marry him. However, the year before their wedding they both wanted to offer a concrete sign of gratitude to God for having met each other and the opportunity arose for them to come to Madrid to help organize WYD.
For almost a year now (and until their wedding this July 15), they have been working as volunteers for World Youth Day, where they will return in early August as a newly married couple.
Olivier works in the Cultural Department, coordinating the various musical activities that will be held throughout the week.
For anyone still doubting whether or not to attend WYD, Olivier is quite clear: make a gift to yourself and come. Why? Because it is an experience that changes your life. There will be something that will touch your heart.
There are already nearly 50,000 French youth registered.
Giselle is from Brazil. She is 28 and studied dance in her country. Giselle Azevedo (Brazil)
Giselle Azevedo had everything. A career as a dancer, a family, good friends, and even a boyfriend. But she still felt something was missing. It's been more than 10 years since then and today, at age 28, she belongs to the Shalom Catholic Community, where she has made the commitment to bring God wherever she is needed.
She now works in the Cultural Department of WYD. For Giselle, all the young people who come to WYD will have the most incredible experience of their lives. It is a unique opportunity to listen to the words of the Pope addressed to each one of them and a chance to be “caught on fire” by the faith of other young people.
Her face lights up when she talks about her fellow Brazilians, 11,000 of whom are already registered to come. She says that they have been living these past few months leading up to the event with great enthusiasm, helping each other and trying to ensure that no young person is left behind for economic difficulties.
Benjamin is from Argentina. He is 24 and studied Accounting and Business Administration in his country.
Benjamín Paz (Argentina)
Since Benjamin Paz heard about WYD, he knew he was going to participate in WYD in Madrid, along with the over 5,000 young people from his country who have registered. And once he was offered the chance to volunteer, he did not think twice about it.
Since March 2011, he has been working in the area of social networks along with three other people, coordinating a team of 70 volunteers who are also working for WYD from their respective countries. Benjamin has no doubt that WYD will be an amazing event: witnessing so many youth on the same wavelength. Moreover, for those who have worked for so long on its planning, it will give tremendous satisfaction to see that all this effort has served to help a person or change someone’s life.
Eva is from Slovakia. She is 27 and studied Journalism in her country and Institutional Social Communication in Rome. Eva Janosikova (Slovakia)
Like Benjamin, Eva also works on the social networks. Her goal is to use these new tools to transmit and spread the message of the Holy Father and make it easier for people to grow in their faith.
She says that the chance to participate in WYD is a unique opportunity that comes at a very special time in the life of a young person. As the most recent ad done by World Youth Day shows, it is a train that only passes once in a lifetime.
Eva knows how Slovaks are preparing for WYD. More than 3,000 Slovaks will come to Madrid, but to encourage many more she has created a blog in Slovak with all the preparations. The blog is named: “On the way to Madrid”. It encourages all young people to invite others, as every young person is the best promoter of WYD to their friends!
Petter is Danish. He is 25 and has always worked as a journalist. Petter Becker-Jostes (Denmark)
One of the most recent arrivals to the WYD headquarters is Petter Becker-Jostes who just recently came in from Copenhagen. This Danish 25-year-old says that he came to Madrid as a volunteer on account of two factors: he had the free time to come and he wanted to dedicate it to an important event like WYD.
He works with the team for media relations, which is responsible for registering the over 4,000 journalists expected to cover World Youth Day.
He has a tip for young people who have not yet registered: “Be careful!” - in a good sense, though, because Petter reminds them that WYD can change your life forever.
Want to find out how many young people from your country are registered?